Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sports
Athletes have always tried to obtain a competitive edge over other players. For some, that has meant using performance-enhancing drugs in order to get stronger, faster, or get more endurance. These drugs include anabolic steroids, human growth hormone (HGH), and others. They allow for athletes to workout and condition for longer periods of time, therefore getting stronger and more muscular. They come with some side effects, as they often make ligaments and tendons weaker and leave athletes more susceptible to injury. Commissioners and higher-ups of sports leagues have recently been cracking down on these performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) and punishing players for using them. These drugs have been most widely used in baseball, with large controversies developing around doping players. There have been cases of PED use among athletes in other sports, as well.
The Use of Performance Enhancing Drugs in Baseball There have been Federal cases about these drugs, including long lists of players linked to them. Now, baseball is trying to figure how widespread the use of these narcotics was/is. Some of the more notable alleged users include Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco, and Mark McGwire. Clemens testified before Congress and was indicted by a federal grand jury on accounts of making false statements to Congress regarding his use of PEDs. Rodriguez lied during an interview with Katie Couric about his use of the drugs before being confronted and admitting to doping in February of 2009. Canseco was one of the first players to admit to juicing, and he wrote an entire book saying that the drug use was very widespread. In the book, he named and accused a lot of people of taking performance-enhancers.
The Mitchell Report: The Mitchell Report is a result of former senator George Mitchell's investigation into the use of anabolic steroids and human growth hormone (HGH) in Major League Baseball. It's a 409 page report that details the history of performance-enhancing drugs in sports and names 89 former and current MLB players connected with the drugs. The investigation focused on high profile players and didn't focus on the role that teams played. The report found that 5 to 7 percent of players tested positive for steroid use during random testing in 2003. Until 2004, players on the forty-man roster of any Major League team were exempt from testing. Among those named in the report are Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, and Miguel Tejada. The Mitchell Report also details Brian McNamee, a personal trainer who allegedly helped athletes acquire steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. Most notably, McNamee trained Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte. Pettitte has admitted to using HGH and has apologized for doing so. McNamee claims to have injected Clemens with anabolic steroids, which Clemens denies. Clemens was recently indicted by a federal judge for, among other things, lying to Congress.
Barry Bonds:
Barry Bonds' record setting home run ball, marked with an asterisk by the person who caught it
One of the most famous cases of steroids in baseball (allegedly) is Barry Bonds. Bonds holds the record for most home runs of all-time, but there is widespread speculation that he has used performance-enhancers. There is an asterisk that comes with his title of home run king because of his alleged use of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs. In 2005, Bonds was indicted on four counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice in relation to the government investigation of BALCO, a co-operative that was charged with providing athletes with anabolic steroids and other banned drugs. Bonds' trainer at the time, Greg Anderson, was the BALCO employee charged with supplying athletes with these drugs. Bonds received two substances from Anderson, which he was told were nutritional substances, but were actually an anabolic steroid and a cream used in conjunction with anabolic steroids ("the cream" and "the clear"). The book Game Of Shadows alleges that Bonds used stanozolol and other steroids. Between his early years in baseball and his final years playing the game, Bonds' physique changed dramatically. He got noticeably larger and gained a lot of weight. His head size also increased dramatically, a known side-effect of anabolic steroids. Bonds attributed these changes in his physique to an intense workout regimen and a healthy diet. Bonds has the most home runs of all-time with 762 long balls, but we may never know for sure if that number deserves an asterisk next to it in the record books.
The Use of Performance Enhancing Drugs in Other Sports
Steroids and other PEDs have been used most prominently by baseball players, but they have also been used by athletes in other sports.
A survey was conducted in 2009 and 1 in 10 NFL players said that they had used anabolic steroids while still playing. 16.3% of offensive lineman and 14.8% of defensive lineman also confidentially admitted doping. Most notably, Shawne Merriman tested positive for steroids a couple of years ago and was suspended for four games.
Doping is also a problem in cycling. Floyd Landis, the winner of the 2006 Tour de France, tested as having a high ratio of testosterone (which is used as a PED) to epitestosterone, another hormone. Later that year, Landis tested positive for a synthetic testosterone. He was then stripped of his Tour de France title and banned from cycling for 2 years. Landis has also accused Lance Armstrong of doping in 2002 and 2003 (two years Armstrong won the Tour de France), probably the most famous cyclist of all-time, of doping. Armstrong has turned aside and denied these claims.
There have also been cases of doping in Olympic sports, most notably with Marion Jones, the famous sprinter. Jones won 5 gold medals in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, but then had to give them all back after admitting to taking steroids. She later admitted to lying about her use of steroids to the press and to two grand juries. She also pled guilty to lying to federal agents during the BALCO investigation. Because of these lies, she was sentenced to 6 months in jail.
Athletes have always tried to obtain a competitive edge over other players. For some, that has meant using performance-enhancing drugs in order to get stronger, faster, or get more endurance. These drugs include anabolic steroids, human growth hormone (HGH), and others. They allow for athletes to workout and condition for longer periods of time, therefore getting stronger and more muscular. They come with some side effects, as they often make ligaments and tendons weaker and leave athletes more susceptible to injury. Commissioners and higher-ups of sports leagues have recently been cracking down on these performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) and punishing players for using them. These drugs have been most widely used in baseball, with large controversies developing around doping players. There have been cases of PED use among athletes in other sports, as well.
The Use of Performance Enhancing Drugs in Baseball
There have been Federal cases about these drugs, including long lists of players linked to them. Now, baseball is trying to figure how widespread the use of these narcotics was/is. Some of the more notable alleged users include Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco, and Mark McGwire. Clemens testified before Congress and was indicted by a federal grand jury on accounts of making false statements to Congress regarding his use of PEDs. Rodriguez lied during an interview with Katie Couric about his use of the drugs before being confronted and admitting to doping in February of 2009. Canseco was one of the first players to admit to juicing, and he wrote an entire book saying that the drug use was very widespread. In the book, he named and accused a lot of people of taking performance-enhancers.
The Mitchell Report:
The Mitchell Report is a result of former senator George Mitchell's investigation into the use of anabolic steroids and human growth hormone (HGH) in Major League Baseball. It's a 409 page report that details the history of performance-enhancing drugs in sports and names 89 former and current MLB players connected with the drugs. The investigation focused on high profile players and didn't focus on the role that teams played. The report found that 5 to 7 percent of players tested positive for steroid use during random testing in 2003. Until 2004, players on the forty-man roster of any Major League team were exempt from testing.
Among those named in the report are Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, and Miguel Tejada. The Mitchell Report also details Brian McNamee, a personal trainer who allegedly helped athletes acquire steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. Most notably, McNamee trained Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte. Pettitte has admitted to using HGH and has apologized for doing so. McNamee claims to have injected Clemens with anabolic steroids, which Clemens denies. Clemens was recently indicted by a federal judge for, among other things, lying to Congress.
Barry Bonds:
One of the most famous cases of steroids in baseball (allegedly) is Barry Bonds. Bonds holds the record for most home runs of all-time, but there is widespread speculation that he has used performance-enhancers. There is an asterisk that comes with his title of home run king because of his alleged use of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs. In 2005, Bonds was indicted on four counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice in relation to the government investigation of BALCO, a co-operative that was charged with providing athletes with anabolic steroids and other banned drugs. Bonds' trainer at the time, Greg Anderson, was the BALCO employee charged with supplying athletes with these drugs. Bonds received two substances from Anderson, which he was told were nutritional substances, but were actually an anabolic steroid and a cream used in conjunction with anabolic steroids ("the cream" and "the clear"). The book Game Of Shadows alleges that Bonds used stanozolol and other steroids. Between his early years in baseball and his final years playing the game, Bonds' physique changed dramatically. He got noticeably larger and gained a lot of weight. His head size also increased dramatically, a known side-effect of
anabolic steroids. Bonds attributed these changes in his physique to an intense workout regimen and a healthy diet. Bonds has the most home runs of all-time with 762 long balls, but we may never know for sure if that number deserves an asterisk next to it in the record books.
The Use of Performance Enhancing Drugs in Other Sports
Steroids and other PEDs have been used most prominently by baseball players, but they have also been used by athletes in other sports.
A survey was conducted in 2009 and 1 in 10 NFL players said that they had used anabolic steroids while still playing. 16.3% of offensive lineman and 14.8% of defensive lineman also confidentially admitted doping. Most notably, Shawne Merriman tested positive for steroids a couple of years ago and was suspended for four games.
Doping is also a problem in cycling. Floyd Landis, the winner of the 2006 Tour de France, tested as having a high ratio of testosterone (which is used as a PED) to epitestosterone, another hormone. Later that year, Landis tested positive for a synthetic testosterone. He was then stripped of his Tour de France title and banned from cycling for 2 years. Landis has also accused Lance Armstrong of doping in 2002 and 2003 (two years Armstrong won the Tour de France), probably the most famous cyclist of all-time, of doping. Armstrong has turned aside and denied these claims.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Bonds
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitchell_Report_(baseball)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marion_Jones